FIRE! And Thanks, Paganini

I woke up around 6:30pm on Wednesday. It took a second to get my bearings because I wasn't used to spending the night in a strange place. Rafael was there as he promised and we talked for a little while. He had an appointment at 7 and I made plans to meet up with Vince at 8. Last I knew he had a few gaping holes in him so I wanted to see with my own eyes that he was okay.

I took a little detour over to home and saw that there were still police lines around the club. I stayed out of sight in case anyone recognized me and called Paul as I walked up to Bauhaus in Capitol Hill. He mentioned that he came by a little earlier and was spotted by the manager. Some officers were asking him questions about me, but he truthfully said he didn't know where I was because he had just gotten back into town. Even had the train ticket stub to prove it! He asked if I needed anything, and when I declined, he mentioned that if I did, he'll be at Salty's on Alki with his family. I met up with Vince and was satisfied that he was still alive and well. We talked for a while over untouched, cooling coffees.

At 10:30 or so my phone rang and it was Paul. He asked if I wanted to come by to meet his family. I must have come up in conversation... But he must have done well at saying the right things if they were willing to have me join them. I agreed and headed over there. As soon as I walked in, I immediately felt out of place. I didn't know it was an upscale place. I think I hid my discomfort pretty well and just held my head high, despite being punked out as I was. I found Paul, but nearly didn't recognize him. I don't know if he rented it or what, but the sweet boy was in a tux! And he looked damn good too! I met his mother and sister, Virginia. They didn't seem to notice my being dressed down and we got along great. I declined offers of food and drink under the guise that I had already eaten and the four of us chatted away. After an hour or so I said goodnight and headed back down to the hostel. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go back home for another day or so.

The next night, I got woken up a little earlier than usual. It was around 6 and there were some LOUD sirens screaming nearby. It didn't take me long to find out what was going on: apparently Pioneer Square was up in a five-alarm blaze!! SHIT!! I got outside as fast as I could and sprinted through the underground market to get to Old Seattle. I'm sure Jericho wouldn't be too happy about me trespassing, but dammit, if he gets pissed, at least that means he's okay!! I came to a door that led to Old Seattle and it was certainly warm. FUCKFUCKFUCK!!! I somehow found my way to where he normally hangs out and screamed for him. No response.

After my throat was raw from screaming myself hoarse, I dejectedly went back up to level ground. The fire was slowly being contained, but I NEEDED to find Jericho. Some asshole news reporter kept shoving a mic in my face, but I was so lost in thought that I couldn't even hear what he was asking me. Everything seemed to be muffled and moving in slow motion. I was my own action hero. There was an aid station nearby so I let a worker coax me into coming in. I must have looked pretty terrible with soot and ash all over my face. I said that I was desperately looking for a friend and gave her Jericho's description. She said he hasn't come by and offered me some orange juice and crackers. I willed my blood to let me consume these things for my own comfort in addition to not wanting to raise suspicion. Some medics checked me out to make sure I was okay so it was a good time for my heart to actually be beating.

Around midnight, things were calming down. I went back down to Jericho's usual spot and left a note with my phone number: "J, worried about you. Please call me. -J" I almost hit the ceiling from being startled at my phone ringing a few minutes later. It was Paul. He said that his family flew out to Iowa today, but not before a ridiculously thorough, "random" search. Apparently it took so long that they missed their flight! WTF? Something's up. I need to track down Liam; I hear he controls Sea-Tac. I gave my sympathies to Paul and his family and asked him to keep an eye out for probably the only person in the city who matches Jericho's description. It was a little early, but I decided to call it a night after all this excitement. I didn't even feel like going all the way home, especially since it was probably still blocked off, so I went back to the hostel.

When Friday came around, I woke up and immediately set out for Pioneer Square again. I texted Blade on my way saying Jericho was no where to be found and asked if he knew where he was. Surprisingly, I actually got a response, but it was just a simple "No, but I'm sure he's fine." I sent a text to Rafael too and he mentioned that he was laying low for a bit. Finally, I texted Mike and Vince saying I was going to go look for Jericho and they were welcome to come if they wanted. I headed down to his spot again and after looking a little closer, I found a small pile of stuff that was obviously his, including a CD player. I put on the headphones and pressed play. It was Paganini; the same song Jericho was singing that one time I paid him a visit. I didn't know the words completely, but since I've always been a pro at sight reading, I was able to pick it up pretty easily after listening to it once. I pushed a button to have it play again and sang along with it this time. I felt like maybe this would be a way to call out to Jericho. About halfway through the song, Mike and Vince showed up. I put everything back and we began our search.

A little ways down from where I started, we found a doorway and some hidden stairs. At the bottom of them, we were in what must be Jericho's place. There were books and journals all around that Mike was eyeing, but politely (or fearfully) refrained from looking through. There was a violin case on the floor and I was awed to find a fricken Stradivarious violin tucked away in it. There was an inscription on the case saying "Forever yours, Niccolò". Niccolò...? ...Paganini?! My thoughts were interrupted by Vince calling out from another room I hadn't noticed. He was holding up the lid to a jet black coffin and I could see the end of a stake jutting out. My fears were confirmed when I rushed over to his side and saw Jericho! I made a move to remove the stake, but Vince stopped me saying he might be in a frenzy by this time. Mike agreed with him and eased me away. Vince offered to go hunt for a "snack" for him. I paced around nervously waiting for him to return.

After about 15 minutes, I heard a gunshot upstairs. Mike and I exchanged glances and made a run for it, but he BLAZED by me. When I made it to the top of the stairs after what seemed like an eternity compared to Speedy Von Runsalot, Vince was struggling with a guy who I could only assume was our offering to the mountain man. I told him to pass the guy to me and he ran back to where he came from, shouting over his shoulder that Blade and Carlos were on their way and not not wake Jericho up yet. Oh, for fuck's sake! "I'm sure he's fine," my ass!!! There was obviously a scuffle going on, but I had my own to contend with. I drug the live bait downstairs and took long enough that by the time I finally got to the coffin, everyone came into the room. I glared at Blade and spat out a biting comment of "Oh, he's just fine, huh?!" but he didn't really acknowledge it. Either he knew I was right and didn't want to admit it, was too concerned about his childe's well-being at the moment, or only cared about getting him awake now and didn't care about what could have happened. I sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter. Blade took the guy from me and said that he'll go in and wake Jericho. He told us that he was going to lock the door behind him and to not open it unless someone knocks. It might be just him, just Jericho, or it just may be both of them.

He went in and locked the door. A series of snaps echoed out the door which could only be the sound of him snapping the extra stakes Jericho had on his coffin. A split second of silence and then absolute pandemonium broke out. A fight EXPLODED behind that door with plenty off yelling, snarling, screaming, cursing, and crashing around. It felt like forever, but in reality it was only a few moments. When everything calmed down, there was a knock and when the door was opened, but Blade and Jericho stepped out, both looking like hell. Blade had blood and gash marks all over him. Jericho had blood spattered in his whiskers and his claws out too. They both looked pretty shaken and Mike ran upstairs to go get them a bucket of water to clean up. There was a tense air hanging around us, so I took a cue from Paganini and sang my calling to Jericho. I only intended on trying to calm him down, but to everyone's surprise, he actually began to cry!! I got a little choked up seeing this, but continued to sing. When it got to the part that was so low it was just barely within my range, Jericho took over with his booming voice. Everyone else was shocked, but I smiled in familiarity. After the song ended, Blade nudged him saying "the walls have come down" and shared what seemed like a private joke between them. Jericho stood up and walked up the stairs. Blade signaled for us to stay put for a second, but then beckoned us when he knew the coast was clear. They conversed in hushed tones and though it was quite animated, but ended in a hand shake.

Blade and Carlos left, Mike took care of some unfinished business, and Vince, Jericho, and I looked around his place to try to find clues as to what the hell happened. Vince managed to find traces of an accelerant in the duct above the coffin where a ceiling tile had been pushed just slightly ajar. That was about as far as we got when Jericho mentioned that he was going out to clear his head, and didn't want us to be here when he returned. I gave him my number and asked him to call me tomorrow to talk and he agreed. What the fuck is going on?!